Oscar-Winning Muhammad Ali Documentary When We Were Kings Set for Stage Musical Adaptation

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! The 1996 film When We Were Kings will become a stage musical. Producer David Sonenberg is developing the Oscar-winning documentary about the championship fight that took place in Zaire, Africa in 1974 between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali.

Shelley Marcus has adapted the book for the musical, and the score will include R&B classics performed as well as “Rumble In The Jungle”, which was written by The Fugees specifically for the film.

Centering on one of the most talked-about boxing matches of all time, When We Were Kings will include portrayals of Ali and Foreman, along with Don King, Stokely Carmichael, Norman Mailer, George Plimpton, Howard Cosell, Miriam Makeba, President Mobutu and more. The cast for the musical will also include portrayals of James Brown, B.B. King, The Pointer Sisters, The Spinners, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, and The Fania All Stars who performed at the music festival which took place just before the fight in Zaire.

"The details of Ali’s life are as relevant today as they were 45 years ago," said Sonenberg. "Ali’s story, as depicted in ‘When We Were Kings’ fuses sports, music, dance, politics, race and culture in a way that should be compelling to a broad global audience."

A workshop is scheduled for the spring of 2019 with plans for a full stage musical production the following year.